American Brokers Conduit: 2002-2007MortgagePress.comAmerican Brokers Conduit
The following is a compilation of correspondence and
conversation with former employees and friends of American Brokers
Conduit (ABC). Although the company did close their doors at the
beginning of August, ABC has left an indelible mark on the mortgage
industry. We wish the former employees of ABC the best of luck in
their future endeavors.
"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are
the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important
than the events that occur."
—Vince Lombardi
Five years ago, a small group of dedicated mortgage
professionals came together to begin a journey that would take a
small wholesale lender and turn it into one of the top lenders in
the country. It started with a core group of executive leaders with
tremendous vision. While this group wanted to build a successful
wholesale platform, they didn't want to just be another
lender—they wanted to be something different.
At the core of building their successful business was assuring
that the very best and most passionate were assembled from across
the country. They knew that, without passion, you simply couldn't
be your best. That culture was inherent with all employees at ABC
from the very beginning. Employees were dedicated and committed to
helping ABC and the industry grow. ABC employees continuously
supported their Mortgage Broker partners, and had developed
multiple tools and resources to help their brokers succeed, even in
a declining market. At ABC, there was not a separate corporate and
sales culture, there was one team. That team made it their mission
to help brokers become as successful as possible.
While having the right team assembled was critical, without a
solid vision and plan, the best team wouldn't be successful. ABC
had firmly established their vision and plan—to build a
broker-centric business. This meant always delivering service
beyond expectations and listening to the needs of the Mortgage
Broker community. They listened, implemented and continued to build
their business around their broker customers. Mortgage Brokers
across the country knew ABC was their partner and would work with
them to grow their business.
ABC gained the respect of so many across the country and
established solid relationships with some of the top mortgage
experts in the industry. These relationships helped make ABC
stronger and reinforced their broker-centric model, which had never
been executed so successfully. ABC also put a tremendous emphasis
on technology, something new to the mortgage industry. With the
introduction of new technology, comprehensive training plans were
put in motion and ABC became a powerhouse. The company would rise
to become one of the top lenders in the industry, peaking as the
sixth largest lender in the industry.
Over the last few months of this year, ABC faced insurmountable
challenges like so many others in our industry today. The company
fought as tough as it could to sustain their position in the
industry. The sentiment and goodwill during that difficult time,
from brokers, external partners and employees, was a testament to
the impact that ABC as a company had made on so many lives. In the
end, however, the company succumbed to difficult market
conditions.
We all know saying goodbye is never easy and it certainly has
not been in the case of this dynamic lender that came to be a
visionary in our industry. We can, however, embrace the fact that
those employees and brokers who worked with ABC to make it such a
success can now bring their philosophies, ideas, knowledge and
expertise to others in our industry. The very same executive team
that started the company worked tirelessly to help place their
teams in new companies, trying to keep those that had worked
together so successfully as much as possible. Fortunately, many ABC
branches have remained intact and have moved to other wholesale
lenders such as Wachovia and Sun Trust Bank, whose philosophies
closely mirror that of ABC's. While the ABC story comes to a close,
the passion and vision to succeed, with dedication and commitment,
in our industry continues to live on.
